Why it works: Potato and chive work together. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 611 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
British New Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the potatoes
Cook the potatoes in their skins in boiling water for 10-15 minutes, until tender.
Make the dressing
Mash the egg yolks, cayenne pepper, and sugar to a paste with the anchovy essence, herb vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of cold water. Stir in the cream.
Combine and serve
Drain the potatoes thoroughly and toss with the dressing. Serve warm or cold, garnished with snipped chives.
Variation
Replace the cream with soured cream or natural yogurt and substitute the anchovy essence for 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs such as tarragon, chives, mint, or parsley.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Anchovy | 100g | 210 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Chives | 1 tbsp (3g) | 1 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Potato + chivetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together611 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Pepper + chivetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,885 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Egg + anchovytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,330 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Bind with the paste base, thickening the dressing and giving it a rich, smooth body.
- Double cream
- Adds fat for a rich, silky texture that coats the potatoes.
- Anchovy essence
- Adds a savoury, salty depth that gives the dressing its character.
- Herb vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and cuts the richness of the yolks and cream.
- Caster sugar
- Adds a small amount of sweetness that balances the acidity and saltiness.
- New potatoes
- Form the bulk of the salad, absorbing the dressing when tossed while still tender.
The step that matters
Drain the potatoes thoroughly. Water left on the cooked potatoes thins the dressing and stops it clinging, so the salad can turn watery and loose. Dry potatoes hold the creamy coating evenly.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, sugar, anchovy, vinegar, cream, chive):
- Mustardfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, sugar, anchovy, vinegar, cream, chive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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